Hi Lois!

The wind had picked up overnight and the sky was overcast. It was predicted to be dry today but wet weather was forecast for tomorrow. It would be quite squally. The weather vane atop the barn roof creaked ever so slightly in the wind. A quick rust treatment was in order. Lois had agreed to come over to go through some files with Clark so they could begin drafting their next story. Truth be told, it was a surprise they'd managed to get any work done at all. Lois had breezed into the house just before 10:00, greeted by Shelby at the door. She and Clark had sat down for some breakfast, and both looked preoccupied. They were a couple now yet both were still coming to terms with how to proceed forward.

"I'm meeting Chloe later to go dress shopping. I need a new outfit for the gala. Wanna come, or do you have yours already?" she asked.

Clark raised an eyebrow. "I know we said we're coming out officially tomorrow night but clearly our definitions of 'coming out' aren't exactly the same."

Lois had to give him that one. That was some razor sharp wit.

"Well it would certainly get everyone talking!"

Clark had a genuine excuse for needing to give the shopping trip a miss.

"Lois, I have a few chores to get out of the way first and it will take me until maybe 5:00. After that, I'm all yours," he offered. "Although it might save some time if you wanna help."

"Mucking out the stalls? Ha! You are so on your own there, Smallville!"

Clark stood there shaking his head before grabbing his jacket and heading out towards the barn. Shelby followed him out to stretch his legs. Lois sat there gathering up all the paperwork they'd finished with, her thoughts drifting to the events of the morning. It was the little things, like their hands inadvertently touching as they both reached for the same file, or a stolen sidelong glance in admiration, that got her senses tingling. There was still a part of her brain that had to remind her that such things were absolutely OK. They were together after all, so little displays of affection here and there were perfectly acceptable.

Switching on the TV while collecting up the rest of the paperwork, she thought about the man now working out there in the fields. How did the farm look so well maintained considering that Clark was working in Metropolis? Had he hired a farm hand that she didn't know about? Had they sold off some of the land to lessen the burden? Was the farm actually pretty easy to manage? How did he decide what needs doing and when? Had that tractor in the barn ever worked? Did Shelby know how to milk a cow? Was Clark working up a sweat? The phone ringing broke her out of her thoughts so she went to answer it. Anything to do with farming, she'd run out and yell for Clark.

"Hello?"

"Lois sweetie, hi!"

It was Mrs Kent.

"Mrs Kent! Wow, I haven't heard from you in months!"

They were both happy to hear from each other. It really had been a while.

"I know, and it's my fault. I speak to Clark every week but I guess, like me, you're always on the go. You never were one to sit still. So how are you, Lois?"

Lois smiled. How was she doing? Pretty good, all things considered. A few broken sleeps and a night in hospital because of hypoglycaemia aside, things were actually pretty good in Lois' world. The new man in her life had seen to that.

"I'm really good actually. Better than good. Work is going really well and I'm getting the inside track on all the major scoops. If we can keep this up, they'll have no choice but to move us out of the bullpen."

"I'm glad. I try to keep up with the Daily Planet and I've kept a little scrap book of yours and Clark's articles. It sounds corny I know, but I am so proud of what you've become, Lois."

"Thanks, Mrs Kent. That really means a lot coming from you."

"You're welcome, sweetie. I have to say, I miss having you working with me. My Chief of Staff might be an experienced campaigner but nobody could bang heads together quite like you. Sometimes, it's necessary to keep people in line and it was kind of fun to watch you boss people about!"

"Well, I am a General's daughter so being bossy is second nature. As for the rest, I had the best mentors to show me the ropes. Anyway, how are things in Washington? It's a shame you don't get to come home more often."

"It's like a mountain of paperwork every day. You wouldn't believe how much red tape needs to be overcome for anything to get done. That said, I've met so many hard working people who don't have the privileges I get, so I can't really complain."

"Well take it from me, Mrs Kent, you're making a difference out there."

"I hope so. I really would like to come back to Smallville more often."

Lois realised that despite being glad to hear from Mrs Kent and have this little chat, she didn't really have an awful lot to add. Well she did, but she didn't know how or indeed if she ought to bring it up. Lois didn't fear many things in this world, but what Mrs Kent thought of her was important to her and that made her nervous. Clark's mom had obviously called to speak to Clark anyway, so she could at least yell out for him to come to the house.

"So, uh, did you want to speak to Clark? He said he had a couple of chores to take care of somewhere on the farm."

"Actually I'd really like to chat with you, Lois. As you say, it has been a long time. How come you're at the farm?"

"I came here to go over some files with Clark to prep our next story."

"Reading your stories, you make a great team."

"We certainly do."

The swooning in her answer was unmistakable, even over the phone. Lois mentally kicked herself, knowing that she'd sounded like a schoolgirl with a crush. Would Mrs Kent pick up on it?

"Lois? Is there something else?"

Uh oh, busted! Lois knew she wouldn't be fooling Mrs Kent if she tried to change the subject, avoided answering the question, made up some convoluted story or straight-up told a lie. The Senator was adept at reading people, especially those she already knew. Taking a deep breath, Lois decided to come out with the truth.

"Yeah. I'm not really sure how to put this, but…Clark and I are seeing each other."

The last part was babbled out double-quick, but Martha still caught it clearly. That she'd been expecting it helped.

"Really? That's great!"

Lois moved the phone away from her ear to stare at it, shocked. She'd been expecting surprise, even shock, not jubilation. She quickly put the phone back to her ear.

"Huh! You're not mad?"

"Why would I be mad? I think it is wonderful news. I am so happy for the two of you. There's nothing to be mad about."

Well that was a turn up. Lois was acutely aware that her heart had been racing and wondered if it could be heard over the phone too.

"Wow. I…um…I just thought you might not approve given how I used to live here an' all. You once told me I'm practically family so that would be kinda weird."

She heard Mrs Kent laugh down the phone.

"Lois, you don't have to be blood or have signed papers to prove that you're part of the family. It's what's in the heart that counts."

"Oh. Phew!" Lois physically wiped her brow in relief.

"Lois honey, I've thought for a long time that the two of you would be good together. I saw how you were around each other."

How we were around each other? Does 'constantly at loggerheads' really suggest a romantic connection? Is this that old playground adage of pulling the pigtails?

"But Mrs K, we always used to argue."

"I know, but I could sense there was affection between you despite all that. You bring out a side of Clark that no-one else can. You've said yourself how he seems to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders, but when you're around him, he's a different person. A happier person."

"Mrs Kent, are you saying you called it years ago?"

Martha thought about how often she and her husband used to talk about Lois and Clark when they lay in bed at night. Not in terms of them getting together, but how they were around one another. They would argue and fight but it was never with any malice, more to mask a mutual affection. Clark would grumble about things Lois did or didn't do, but she challenged him, made him shout and made him smile. He was so animated sometimes that it was as though Martha was watching a different person, and it was far better than sitting in his loft brooding.

"I am! Jonathan and I could see it soon after you first moved in. You spent a lot of time together and seemed to do a lot of things together without it being an issue."

Lois looked over at the TV. She'd muted the sound when the phone rang so all she could see was news footage about events that everybody already knew about, being discussed at length by blustering commentators with nothing to add beyond their own overinflated sense of importance. Such was the way with 24-hour news channels. Yet what Mrs Kent was telling her really felt like news, as though she'd just been made privy to a secret that everybody else already knew.

"It's weird how everybody seems to think this has been a thing for so long. How come you never said anything?"

Martha's voice softened back to the one she always used when giving advice and reassurance. It was deliberate on her part to make her listener really pay attention because they had to concentrate a little harder to hear her and understand her. She'd learned the trick back in her days training as a lawyer in Metropolis. She wanted Lois to really listen to her words on this occasion.

"Sometimes, you need to make a few wrong choices and go through a little heartache before you finally make the right choice, or see what's been there all along. You and Clark were both so stubborn that forcing you to get together would have pushed you further away. I simply decided to maintain a watching brief."

Lois visibly relaxed. Things were going to be OK after all.

"I'm really happy that it's come about. I just feel so much better than I have for a while."

"Lois, that is music to my ears. Since we're gossiping, can I ask when you realised what I've known for a while?"

"Gossiping?"

Martha laughed once more. She noted the change in demeanour in Lois from nervous to relaxed, and she knew Lois would open up more once she was relaxed. This conversation was vastly different to all of her conversations in Washington, the majority of which were work-related. Even on social occasions, there was often too much discussion about other people's significant others. As a widow and with a son who was still single, she couldn't quite relate to talk about weddings or babies. Sometimes these social chitchats were with very well-to-do friends so talking about weekends in the south of France or skiing in Vail were again things that she couldn't relate to her own humble background. Being able to partake in idle gossip made her feel younger again.

"Yeah. Lois, it makes me feel like a teenager again, talking about boys and so on."

"Aww Mrs K, you're still young at heart!"

"So, when did you know for sure?"

Lois thought for a moment. When did she know for sure?

"Well, ever since we started working together, I guess I began to appreciate Clark a lot more. With him there, at least I had somebody I could trust. For me, the feelings were there around the time of Chloe's engagement party but I was in denial until Chloe's wedding. I don't know what it was but there was this moment where I thought we were on the same page, that he felt as strongly as I did. I was so sure it was what I wanted and for a while, I thought Clark wanted the same thing, but Lana showing up threw a spanner in the works. Clark still wasn't completely over her and given how it had ended, I couldn't really blame him for that. I did have to try and deal with that. I thought the chance had gone."

Martha remembered talking to Clark about what had happened at Chloe's wedding so she knew that Lana had come back to Smallville. She didn't know anything about what had almost happened between Clark and Lois, but considering the disastrous events of that day, anything else just seemed trivial. Another spin on the Clark-Lana merry-go-round had come and gone, but was it the last? Clark's obsession with making a relationship with Lana work had a tendency to push everybody and everything else onto the back-burner, including his own life whether that was his intention or not. No disrespect to Lana, but he wouldn't be able to move forward with anything until he could leave Lana in his past. He had to get some definitive closure. Martha didn't know that Clark had effectively already done so by consigning the photo of Lana he kept in his wallet to his scrapbook of memories. An apt metaphor to suggest that his heart no longer belonged to her.

"When did you both decide that this is what you wanted?"

"Shouldn't we save the juicy details for our next sleepover Mrs Kent?"

Martha laughed heartily. After her initial misgivings about Lois pestering Clark for information, she'd grown very fond of Lois' ways. The army brat had reminded her of herself when she was younger, and she recognised the good heart behind the bravado. Lois was always respectful of the Kents as her elders but that didn't mean she couldn't still talk to Martha as a peer.

Lois began to answer the question.

"We were going to do a side job hosting morning television but at the last minute, the producers decided to go with someone else. I was just telling Clark when out of the blue, he…kissed me. It had been building for weeks, but I got caught up in the moment."

Martha hid her surprise that it was Clark who'd made the definitive move. Everything she'd learned up to now suggested that the strong feelings had been there for longer on Lois' side, and she was the type of girl to just go and get something if she wanted it, foolish or otherwise. That would imply that it was her who'd initiated things. With that being said, things had clearly escalated on Clark's part when he'd admitted to his mom that Lois' disappearance had had a profound effect on him and his feelings towards her.

"I guess the heart wants what it wants, and he'd held out for long enough."

"Being with him, it just feels right. If it didn't, I wouldn't have let it go any further." Then clearing her throat, Lois asked, "So, uh, did you wanna speak to Clark? I can call him if you want."

"No, I'll call in a couple of days or so. You two are both busy and he needs to finish his chores before the weather turns."

"Oh, OK then. Well, it was really nice to hear from you again, Mrs K."

"You too, Lois. I really am happy for you both. Tell Clark I'm sending my love."

"I will. And thanks, I'm glad that you're OK with all this."

Martha smiled. "Bye, Lois. Take care."

"Bye, Mrs Kent."

Lois replaced the receiver and stared at it. Mrs Kent seemed absolutely made up that Lois and her son were now an item. She had his mom's blessing and that settled her down. Of all the people who mattered to her, only her father and her sister were yet to know. That bridge didn't need to be crossed right away though. For now, it was about taking each day as it comes. This could be something epic as long as she didn't allow her usual hang-ups to get in the way of things. Clark entered the house moments later.

"Who were you talking to?"

Lois pretended she hadn't heard him. It was a reflex action, yet totally needless.

"Huh?"

"On the phone just now?"

"Oh, it was just your mom calling to say 'Hi'. We just had a little chat."

"About?"

Lois smiled wide, stifling the urge to laugh at Clark's nosiness.

"Girl stuff! You'll need a set of boobs and a bikini if you want to join our sleepover club!"

Clark smiled back.

"I already said I'm not going shopping Lois!"

Lois laughed out loud, then stopped suddenly as Clark stepped closer to her. She could smell the scent of grass mixed with his cologne on his shirt. There was no hint of horse muck or anything else unpleasant. He didn't even look as though he'd built up a sweat. Something in the air made her want to tell him the truth.

"She knows…about us, I mean."

"Oh. What did she say?"

"She's OK with it all. Really happy, actually."

Clark leaned forward, put his hands on her arms and placed a soft kiss on Lois' lips. She closed her eyes for that brief moment, before opening them again and looking up into his.

"I know. I told her yesterday."

Lois recoiled back suddenly, wide eyed as it dawned on her what had just happened, surprising Clark. She had been played by them both.

"What?! She knew already? That's why she wanted to speak to me, to hear my version of it!"

"You're not mad, are you?"

Lois calmed back down, stepping forward and placing her hands on Clark's forearms. She sighed.

"No I'm not mad. But working in the corridors of power has made your mom a lot sneakier. She ain't a woman to be messed with."

Clark nodded, smiling and leaned in once again to kiss Lois once again, deeper this time. She reciprocated contentedly. He was good at this, that's for sure.

"You're getting fond of all these little PDAs huh, Smallville?"

"PDA? There's nobody watching."

Both heard a sound and turned towards the dining table to see Shelby sitting on the floor with his bowl in front of him, tongue lolling about and eyes pleading. The dog was hungry again.


FIN.